1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to distributing data and/or physical objects and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for distributing data and/or physical objects based on distribution ratios for the objects.
2. Description of the Related Art
Distributing data objects in a data stream between computers and/or to different end locations is a common operation in data systems employed in a wide variety of applications. For example, different categories of data objects, such as data files of different types, may need to be sent from a client to a server based on particular distribution ratios for the different data object categories. As another example, data objects may need to be distributed to different data channels based on certain distribution ratios among the data channels.
In addition to data objects, a wide variety of physical objects require distribution based on the kind of object and/or to a particular location. For example, different manufactured articles may need to be distributed via conveyer belt to different “bins” following assembly.
For both data objects and physical objects, determining which object to send at a particular time and/or where to send a certain object may require manual preparation of lists based on distribution ratios. Such manual provisioning is often tedious and time consuming, in particular where the distribution ratios may fluctuate over time, and subject to human error.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for efficiently distributing objects.